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For those who played Xenogears, the religious overtones are rather obvious. The entire story is based around a God that is actually a massive weapon that is harvesting humans as fuel. But I've wondered how many people noticed all of the Jewish symbolism all over the place in both games. Here's some examples off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more:
The city names, Shevat, Nisan, and Kislev, are all months in the Jewish calendar.
In the games, the Zohar is that big monolith. In Judaism, the Zohar is a mythical book said to posses the sum of all Jewish mystical knowledge.
The symbol on the Zohar in Xenosaga is an Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew and Yiddish alphabets (and if I remember correctly, the other Zohars had other Hebrew letters on them, but I could be making that up).
This actually has me thinking about the fact that the Xenosaga games all have episode names in German... which is extremely similar to Yiddish. Though I suppose that's a somewhat loose connection.
The city names, Shevat, Nisan, and Kislev, are all months in the Jewish calendar.
In the games, the Zohar is that big monolith. In Judaism, the Zohar is a mythical book said to posses the sum of all Jewish mystical knowledge.
The symbol on the Zohar in Xenosaga is an Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew and Yiddish alphabets (and if I remember correctly, the other Zohars had other Hebrew letters on them, but I could be making that up).
This actually has me thinking about the fact that the Xenosaga games all have episode names in German... which is extremely similar to Yiddish. Though I suppose that's a somewhat loose connection.
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Re: Religious Overtones and Undertones
Thu, March 3, 2005 - 6:18 AMHaving just finished the Xenosaga Episode I Cinematics DVD, I realized there are a lot of Christian references as well.
Near the end, KOS-MOS can be seen hung on a cross and draped in wires.
The 13 Zohars are named for Jesus ("Child of Mary") and the Apostles. I'll admit I do not know if ALL of the names of the Zohars and Apostles match up, but I certainly noticed some obvious ones like Peter and Judas.
This makes me wonder if there are references to other religions that I don't know enough about to pick up on. Anyone catch anything else?
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Re: Religious Overtones and Undertones
Thu, March 3, 2005 - 1:20 PMI just remembered something. Gnosis is one of the more esoteric beliefs.
Gnosticism is a philosophical and religious movement which started in pre-Christian times. The term is derived from the Greek word gnosis which means "knowledge". It is pronounced with a silent "G" (NO-sis). Gnostics claimed to have secret knowledge about God, humanity and the rest of the universe of which the general population was unaware. It became one of the three main belief systems within 1st century Christianity, and was noted for three factors which differed from the two other branches of Christianity:
*Novel beliefs about Gods, the Bible and the world which differed from those of other Christian groups.
*Tolerance of different religious beliefs within and outside of Gnosticism.
*Lack of discrimination against women.
Thought you might find that interesting too. -
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Re: Religious Overtones and Undertones
Thu, March 3, 2005 - 1:38 PMWow, that's amazing. Differing views on various religions is certainly a major theme in the games, though it does seem that certain "factions" have their own issues with each other... like many people looking down on the Realians. Certainly some groups have a hard time tolerating each other. I'll bet we see in the coming Episodes that breaking those barriers is what saves humanity (and the other species).
The religion of the characters is more of a focal point in Xenogears than in Xenosaga (so far). It's been a while since I played Xenogears, but from what I remember, almost every religious group in the game had a BIG problem with anyone who held different beliefs. Until of course they came to the realization that "no, you're ALL wrong. God is a machine. I fact God is a WEAPON that is breeding humans as SPARE PARTS." Then those that weren't completely enslaved by God could finally come together. So uh, yeah.
As for a lack of discrimination against women... well... it looks as though our Jesus is a woman... (and a machine). Which could be highlighted by the fact that the name of the primary Zohar was Child of Mary rather than Son of Mary.
Definitely VERY interesting stuff. Thanks for bringing it up!
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Re: Religious Overtones and Undertones
Thu, March 3, 2005 - 1:39 PMOh, I also wanted to point out of course that currently the Gnosis are seen as the ENEMY, though as far as we know, they are being pulled into our reality against their will and might only be trying to defend themselves. -
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Re: Religious Overtones and Undertones
Thu, March 3, 2005 - 1:54 PMGlad you found it interesting. I remembered it this morning, but couldn't get online to say anything.
I'd have to study it a little more in depth, maybe play the game, to pick up any other references. But I'm sure there are others. As for the depiction of Christ & the Gnosis, that's open to interpretation regarding the beliefs of the writers themselves.
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Re: Religious Overtones and Undertones
Mon, March 14, 2005 - 9:32 AMHalf on topic...as in, skimming the surface and not digging deeply into really nifty areas like Elfie and Pie are because I have essentially no knowledge in the area of religion...
I found the soylent system to be interesting. Not only was "God" using people as fuel, but so were other people.
Also, the whole child molestation issue with the priest showing one face to the world, then showing his real face once Billy realizes that the church is the enemy...well, one of the reasons I adored Xenogears, haha.
I always wondered about the story between the male and female angels who only had one wing and had to work together to fly. Are there any religious groups with that belief, or was that just a story made for the game and to emphasize the link between Elly and Fei?
Oh, and look, I joined. Happy now?*grins* -
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Re: Religious Overtones and Undertones
Mon, March 14, 2005 - 10:26 AMWow, I had actually forgotten about most of that except for God using people as fuel, which I thought was a brilliant concept. I mean, lots of mythologies say that gods get their powers from their followers. Xenogears just took a MUCH more direct approach with that.
I don't know of any religious beliefs that angels need to be paired to fly, but now that you've reminded me of it, I did love that aspect of Xenogears. I thought it was a really beautiful idea and wonderfully symbolized the idea of two people needing each other... two halves of a whole working together to soar.
And yes, I am very VERY happy that you joined. :) I mean, you're the one who told me I had to play Xenogears in the first place!
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Re: Religious Overtones and Undertones
Sat, April 9, 2005 - 9:39 AMEPISODE II SPOILER WARNING
So, major revelation at the end of Episode II... chaos's real name is Yeshua... which is the original Hebrew proper name for Jesus of Nazareth.
